So, I have a trip in the next 2 weeks and I already have a fujifilm xt4, 2 sd cards, battery, a wide lens 10-24mm. I do also have a carbon fiber monfrotto tripod but it is too heavy and big to hold with one hand to vlog myself. I am basically documenting my travel journey for friends and family and maybe put it up on the internet just to look back on when I get to old age. I want it to be something I am proud of, not just footage that is shaky and unusable- where I am unable to edit and make... Read more ..read more

I have already posted a short mention of this video in another topic, but I have been thinking about this as a discussion topic. "Walking Vlogs" (my term, I don't know what else to call them) have been around for a while. On the one hand, they are not a huge part of the photography world -- not even if you look more specifically at video, but I think they have a consistent interest. Gerald Undone recently asked if anyone was still vlogging these days. I would say yes, but I'd qualify... Read more ..read more

I think it would be a good idea to accumulate microphone information in one topic, so here it is: [2019-12-09 09:10 Added following 3 paragraphs:] I am trying to put this information into some kind of order. As I have written before, there are objective measures which should give fairly consistent results from one tester to another, and there are subjective issues where differences boil down to the tester's preferences and particular situations. Because of this, if you check a broad... Read more ..read more

I did not do any photography on Canada Day this year. It was not the first time that I missed it, but this year, it was mainly due to the wild-fire smoke in the air. Originally I planned to be out and recording the fireworks, assuming they were on. Having some smoke might have been a good photographic experience. But I was not really looking forward to it and I got distracted, and at the time I needed to leave, my mind was on other things. I have posted fireworks videos before on... Read more ..read more

5G Phone A few years ago, Sony re-organized their divisions and placed its money losing smartphone business under their successful camera division. At the time there was skepticism about why this was done. Looking back, even then, low cost camera sales were falling as people replaced them with their smartphones. That was because smartphone cameras were improving to the point that a lot of people were sufficiently satisfied with results that their smartphones produced. The strategy... Read more ..read more

[Mainly About Royalty Free Music] Something I know a bit about is the availability of "royalty free music" for YouTube. If you have not looked into this before, it is worth considering. Unless you know otherwise about any particular music you might want to used for a video, you should start by assuming it is copy protected. At that point you can at least theoretically get in touch with the Copyright holder and get written permission to use it in your video. I tried that once and... Read more ..read more

Sony a6400, Firmware version 2.00 w/SELP1650 Lens [2020-11-08 23:08 added above subtitle.] In the early part of the year I decided that for video, I would buy a Panasonic G95 and a Sony a6400, and a couple of expensive lenses. The was going to be the core, around which I would add accessories like a good tripod and microphone, and other accessories. Not much went as planned. I got the G85 instead of the G95, and a couple of good mics and a good tripod with a powered pan and... Read more ..read more

On Dec 29, 2021 "DP Review TV" posted their "Cheap Camera Challenge" on YouTube [Length 10:43 ""]. I think that this was a semi-serious effort. They bought the lowest cost "new" stills and video cameras (the still camera was a discontinued product, but bought "new") from their favorite store and ran their standard tests, and gave fair reports. Chris had a fun time with his Olympus stills camera, but Jordan's experience with his "Safari 5D" action camera was painful and... Read more ..read more

I am doing some general analysis of the Sony a5000 video capability. Full HD (1920 x 1080) Video Crop There is a slight crop when using Full HD video. I have known that for some time, but I am just getting around to testing it. For this test I wanted to make sure there was no adjustments made by the camera's processing, so I used a Pentax 50mm F2.0 lens, manually focused. I set up a test using a tape measure, and I recorded a video at Full HD, and then I took a still picture at... Read more ..read more

I recorded a Remembrance Day Ceremony Nov. 11 using my Sony FDR-AX53 and Shure VP83F microphone/recorder (with dead-cat) and it gave me an interesting opportunity to compare wind noise reduction methods. The Globe and Mail did not forecast wind, so I was unprepared, but that can happen in outdoor live activities. Wind was recorded E 22 - 37 km/h at Toronto, Pearson weather station for 11:00, which is quite strong. The Sony AX53 camcorder has a special microphone package which uses... Read more ..read more